MiLB.com ranks Nationals position players at No. 13

MiLB.com came out with its rankings of the top position players by organization. The Nationals were rated No. 13 out of the 30 teams for their talent level of position players. MiLB.com said it measured these players based on the "quality and quantity of top talent in each system."

Nationals prospects mentioned for this ranking included Trea Turner, Victor Robles, Wilmer Difo and Pedro Severino.

The write-up was glowing regarding Turner and how close he is to being an everyday major league player:

"Trea Turner. Trea Turner. Trea Turner. At No. 11 on MLB.com's list, the 22-year-old is the most promising and also most Major League-ready prospect mentioned so far. He doesn't have much else to prove after hitting .322 with 29 steals at Double-A and Triple-A, even if he's likely to start the season back in Syracuse."

This parallels what John Manuel of Baseball America told me this offseason about Turner and how he thinks he could be a starter right now with the Nationals. Manuel says Turner projects as a shortstop regardless of the power of his arm.

The top five teams on the list based on position players are: Colorado, Boston, Texas, Houston and Minnesota.

The rest of the National League East rankings: No. 6, Philadelphia, No. 11, Atlanta, No. 16, New York Mets; and No. 30, Miami.

It is no secret that the Nationals have always coveted building their system up first with the very best field players and high-end pitchers. Four of their top six prospects, based on MLB.com rankings are pitchers, including the No. 1 overall prospect in right-hander Lucas Giolito. That list also included pitchers Reynaldo Lopez, Erick Fedde and A.J. Cole.

But the top 20 Nationals prospects also includes a fair share of top quality position players besides those mentioned above: catcher Jakson Reetz, third baseman Drew Ward, shortstop Osvaldo Abreu, third baseman Anderson Franco, shortstop Edwin Lora, and outfielders Juan Soto, Andrew Stevenson, Rhett Wiseman and Rafael Bautista.